Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Sweeter
Do any of the offspring come back to that general area or just the 2 adults that have always been there.This is a neat story and pics.
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I am not an ornithologist, nor do I try to play one on the internet. But, from what I’ve read, the entire family will stay together over the Winter and return to this very spot in our neighborhood in the Spring; at which point the adult pair will kick out last year's offspring and start a new family. Having said this, from our experience over the course of the past 12 years, the offspring of the year have roughly a 50:50 chance of living long enough to migrate south for the Winter. In addition, over these same 12 years I don’t recall more than the 2-bird breeding pair accompanied by last year’s young with them when they’ve arrived back in the Spring.